My Summer On Earth by Tom Lombardi
Before I begin my review I would like to let you know that this book has a large amount of foul language, frank discussions of sex, nudity, and crass humor. This book is intended for young adults who are 16 or older and who are not put off by the previously mentioned items. With that out of the way, I really enjoyed the book and found it extremely funny, and think it would be great for reluctant older male readers.
The main character of My Summer On Earth is Clint Eastwood. Well, it’s actually a “human suit” created by a race of incorporeal aliens to resemble a 16 year old Clint Eastwood, and sent down to Earth to be worn by one of their own adolescent beings. Clint’s mission is to find an alien previously sent to earth who has become a world famous movie star. Unfortunately, Clint’s superiors failed to teach him how to use the suit, or anything about human culture. He finds a friend in 15 year old Zoë, who has run away from home and crashes either with friends or on the beach. Clint also befriends Kip, an older homeless man with a heroin addiction. As a self-focused teen Clint quickly becomes sidetracked by the me-first culture of Southern California. There are many things Clint wants to do, other than his mission (his foremost concern is human lovemaking). Once he finds the alien movie star, he is introduced to Hollywood. The gleam of So Cal life soon becomes tarnished, and Clint discovers just how hard it is to be human.
I loved this book. It was very funny and read very quickly. Because of the adult content it is appropriate for older readers (16+). It would work really well for males who are reluctant readers. The sci-fi aspect is just a MacGuffin for a fish out of water story, and to satirize life in the 21st century. It’s also a coming of age tale where a young man, focused solely on his own pleasure, begins to genuinely care for those immediately around him, and then for all people. The book mainly focuses on its humor but the message is definitely there, it just doesn’t hit you in the face.
August 18th, 2008
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
Daniel X is a 14 year old orphan with incredible powers and a heavy responsibility. He can run incredibly fast, read minds, and create objects with his mind. He even recreates his murdered family when he feels lonely. And what does an orphaned boy with superpowers do everyday? He hunts aliens that are secretly living on Earth. Daniel owns a special laptop that supplies him with a most wanted list of alien threats to Earth. When he decides to go after #6 on the list he bites off more then he bargained for and may face his first defeat. The problem is that in his line of work defeat usually means death.
For me, this book did not live up to its potential. The idea of Daniel X, a teenage alien bounty hunter, is really cool but in the hands of James Patterson it just comes out as if you are reading the Cliffs Notes version of a better book. It is frustrating that the narrative is watered down as much as it is because it made it difficult for me to really get into and enjoy the book. By the end of the book I was enjoying it a bit more, although the ending is just as rushed as the rest of the book. The concept though holds a lot of promise and I really hope that the second in the series will slow down and show us more of Daniel, his job, and powers, and not the slide show tour that made up the first book. Daniel X is appropriate for all readers, and will interest boys who are looking for a quick action book with sci-fi elements. Its narrative problems may work in its favor when introduced to reluctant readers, who may not expect to invest a lot of time in a novel.
August 11th, 2008
The Ashes of Worlds by Kevin J Anderson
This is space opera at its best. This is the concluding chapter in Kevin J Anderson’s Saga of the Seven Suns. It is a doozy and it doesn’t disappoint. I read this in two day long sessions. I was that hooked.
The Saga of the Seven Suns is a 7 book cycle that deals with the ramifications of Earth’s arrogance when the Earthlings test an ancient weapon by a long dead insect-like race. This weapon takes any gas planet and turns it into a star, allowing the planet’s moons to become available for terraforming and colonization. Unfortunately for Earth, there are aliens living inside gas giants called Hydrouges. Aghast at the holocaust that the Earthlings have unwittingly perpetrated, the Hydrouges go to war.
Unfortunately the humans on Earth aren’t the only humans in the galaxy. Earth sent out generation ships long ago, and now the descendants of those ships are also being attacked by Hydrogues. One group is the planet of Green Priests, who have green skin full of chlorophyll, and who are telepathically linked to colossal sentient trees called the Verdani. Another group of humans are the Roamers. These humans no longer live on planets but live mostly in space, either in ships, asteroids, or barren moons. Roamers are wanderers and handymen, anything they put their minds on they can achieve. There is another race in the universe and they are the Ildirans who share a hive mind. They are as ancient as the Hydrogues themselves, but have grown weak over time because of the lack of any sort of ingenuity.
Eventually the war draws out other ancient races, such as the Wentals and the Fareos. Along with the Hydrogues and the Verdani, the Wental and Faeros are elemental races, and they represent Air, Earth, Water, and Fire respectively. These forces have warred with each other off and on for all of time. And this latest war may mean the end for all of humanity.
I would recommend these books for anyone in 9th grade and up. People who really enjoy Star Wars, Star Trek, the Dune series, and space operas will love these books. They are quick and easy reads. They also have short chapters that give the books a movie-like quality because the story keeps jumping from character to character. This continues the suspense, but also makes it easy to take breaks, so these may work for reluctant readers, or readers who are moving up in their reading level.
The complete series in order is:
- Hidden Empire
- A Forest of Stars
- Horizon Storms
- Scattered Suns
- Of Fire and Night
- Metal Swarm
- Ashes of Worlds
July 23rd, 2008
It’s time! Our Cosplay Fashion Runway is right around the corner. When is it? Well here you go:
Cosplay Fashion Runway
CANCELED
Cosplay is a hobby where people create handmade costumes that celebrate their favorite characters from anime, manga, television, film and comic books. Here are a few photos with examples of cosplay in action:
June 25th, 2008
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
This book deserves 5 stars
This book is a futuristic novel about a boy named Matt who is a clone. When he realizes that the people who created him only want his death, he knows he has to escape to survive. This book really made me stop and think.
June 18th, 2008
The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson
“Kneel Before Zod!” - General Zod (Superman II)
We are all familiar with the story of Superman. The last son of Krypton falls from the sky and is raised in Kansas only to gain super powers and become Earth’s defender of truth and justice. Superman is one of the 20th century’s most popular and traditional messiah/Christ figures.
Kevin J. Anderson’s The Last Days of Krypton takes us back before the birth of Kal-El and the destruction of Krypton. The novel focuses on the lives of a super scientist, Jor-El, and a high level government bureaucrat, Commissioner Zod during the final year or so of the planet Krypton. Both have high hopes for the future of their planet that will help their fates to cross for both the good and ill of the planet. Krypton is a self-proclaimed paradise, yet its development has stagnated due to isolationism and an entrenched distrust of change. We all know before the first page that the planet is doomed (or else there would be no Superman). What follows is a tragic political drama that is a fairly gripping read, because while we know how the story ends, we don’t know how the characters get there.
That being said, I would recommend this book for advanced readers, or those who are really into Superman and comic books. A lot of my enthusiasm for this book is based a lot upon me geeking out about Superman. So if you have ever heard of the Bottle City of Kandor, or know where Supergirl is from, then you HAVE to read this book! 
May 27th, 2008
I liked the book overall but Anderson puts you directly right into the future with no dictionary so some of the words he used such as mal, meg, brag and more would confuse me when sometimes used. The plot was different but it was good. I enjoyed this book
May 27th, 2008
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